Montreal, Canada (SPX) Dec 18, 2022
A team led by researchers at the University of Montreal has found evidence that two exoplanets orbiting a red dwarf star are "water worlds," where water makes up a large fraction of the entire planet. These worlds, located in a planetary system 218 light-years away in the constellation Lyra, are unlike any planet found in our solar system. The team, led by Caroline Piaulet of the Trottier

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain (SPX) Dec 18, 2022
"Nature seems bent on showing us that Earth-like planets are very common. With these two we now know 7 in planetary systems quite near to the Sun" explains Alejandro Suarez Mascareno, an IAC researcher, who is the first author of the study accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. The newly discovered planets orbit the star GJ 1002, which is at a distance of less than 16 ligh

Austin TX (SPX) Dec 18, 2022
Comet strikes on Jupiter's moon Europa could help transport critical ingredients for life found on the moon's surface to its hidden ocean of liquid water - even if the impacts don't punch completely through the moon's icy shell. The discovery comes from a study led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, where researchers developed a computer model to observe what happens afte

Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 18, 2022
In the coming days, NASA's Perseverance rover is expected to begin building the first sample depot on another world. This will mark a crucial milestone in the NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) Mars Sample Return campaign, which aims to bring Mars samples to Earth for closer study. The depot-building process starts when the rover drops one of its titanium sample tubes carrying a chalk-size c

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 18, 2022
Much like how familiar landmarks can give travelers a sense of direction when their smart phones lose their lock on GPS signals, a NASA engineer is teaching a machine to use features on the Moon's horizon to navigate across the lunar surface. "For safety and science geotagging, it's important for explorers to know exactly where they are as they explore the lunar landscape," said Alvin Yew,

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 18, 2022
The largest earthquake ever detected on Mars has revealed layers in its crust that could indicate past collision with a massive object, such as a meteoroid. Previous data has suggested the past occurrence of a large impact, and the findings offer evidence that might support this hypothesis. The research, led by UCLA planetary scientists and published in two papers in Geophysical Research L

Houston TX (SPX) Dec 18, 2022
AstroAccess, a project dedicated to promoting disability inclusion in space, announced the successful completion of its first formal research flight 'AA2' onboard Zero-G Corporation's aircraft. The flight included 14 disabled crew members from five different countries: Australia, Brazil, Germany, Spain, and the US. The Zero-G aircraft ascended to an altitude of 25,000 feet, at which point

New Orleans LA (SPX) Dec 18, 2022
NASA conducted the first test of the newly redesigned RS-25 engine for future flights of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket Dec. 14, completing 209.5 seconds of a scheduled 500 second hot fire at the agency's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The hot fire test was shut down early by a non-flight system used to monitor the engine. NASA and Space Launch System lead engi

Paris, France (SPX) Dec 18, 2022
GKN Aerospace has signed a contract with ArianeGroup to supply the next phase of Ariane 6 turbines and Vulcain nozzles. The contract includes the manufacturing and supply of units for the next 14 Ariane 6 launchers, to be produced from now until 2025. GKN Aerospace, at its Trollhattan site in Sweden, is currently focused on industrializing and integrating novel, innovative technology into

Beijing (XNA) Dec 18, 2022
China launched a Long March 11 carrier rocket early on Friday afternoon to transport an experimental satellite into space, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the country's leading space contractor. The rocket blasted off at 2:17 pm at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China's Sichuan province and soon placed the Shiyan 21 satellite into its preset o